Kristin Stickels, Author at Kate Benson Photography

Miami Product Photographer Kate Benson | Down on The Ranch

by Kristin Stickels | Jun 29, 2015 | Miami Still Life Photo..., Product

A few weeks ago, I did a two-day shoot at a ranch in Davie, Florida. This was the beginning of a busy eight full days of shooting for two different clients. This particular shoot was for Cosabella, whose team is wonderful to work with. The location had pastures, horse corrals, a cabin and working windmill, barns, a true western town and an authentic saloon. They also had all kinds of animals including horses, cows, goats, sheep, donkeys and even camels. The baby animals were adorable. It was fun exploring our various options for shooting all around the ranch.

Thanks to the wonderful Cosabella team and Livestock for Reel for a successful shoot.

More work by Miami Still Life Photographer Kate Benson.

E-Commerce Photography Terms Defined | Miami E-Commerce Photographer Kate Benson

by Kristin Stickels | Jun 26, 2015 | Advice, Miami Photographer

As a still life and product photographer, I realized that there are a lot of terms used in the industry that might not be entirely clear. So, I thought I would define them here and explain how my team and I can help you get the right photos for your needs. e-commerce images: These are photos of your product that customers click on to purchase the product. These shots may be photographed on model or as a still life of just the product alone and can be resized to fit dimensions that your web designer requires. E-commerce images can further be broken into two categories: catalog page images and product images. Catalog page images are the library or the main page that people go to which shows an overview of the products available. The product image is the single image of the product which may show the item from various angles.

Banners and intro images: These are photos that are used as headers and on home pages for websites, like a mini ad, to draw customers in. They can be still life, on location, or on model and use a variety of ways to incorporate imagery.

Advertising images: These are photos that you might need for trade show posters, magazine ads, billboard ads, etc.

Wholesale images: These are photos for use on sites such as Amazon, Belks, Macy’s, etc. Simply send us the guidelines that are requested by the site and we will cater your photos to these needs.

Social Media images: These are photos for use on sites such as Facebook and Instagram. Using the guidelines from these sites and your brand’s image, we create photos to promote your products on social media.

Lookbook images: These are photos for use in a company’s catalog that portray the “feel” of the product. Catalogs are mailed to clients and serve as a widespread way to promote the products.

Line sheet images: These are photos that are basic and to-the-point which give facts for use in helping retail buyers place orders of your product.

Whatever your product photo needs are, we can work with you to develop images that are right for your company.

More work by Miami Product Photographer Kate Benson.

Miami Advertising Photographer Kate Benson | Light Test for Cosabella’s Upcoming Campaign

by Kristin Stickels | May 22, 2015 | Miami Photographer

Cosabella, a client I frequently work with, hired me to shoot their “resort wear” campaign. Their inspiration shots showed some fairly intricate lighting involving colored gels, which I knew would need to be tested out prior to the actual shoot day. So, instead of waiting until the first day of the shoot to nail down the exact lighting that they were aiming for, I spent some time testing out various light set-ups beforehand. This way, on the day of the shoot we would know exactly what the set-up was and would have it all ready so that the models could simply walk onto the set and we could begin shooting without delays.
We worked with Felipe, a local lighting technician and gaffer, to get an additional perspective on the lighting that Cosabella was looking for. His expertise was invaluable, as he had ideas that ended up being quite beneficial to the test. My assistant Kristin was the stand-in for the model and after each shot we examined the shadows and colors for precision.

When were certain we had the lighting exactly as we needed it, I took careful notes in order to be able to replicate the set-up for the actual shoot days.

Miami Product Photographer Kate Benson | Making an Impact with Your Photos for Email Blasts

by Kristin Stickels | May 20, 2015 | Advice, Miami Product Photogra...

As a product photographer, I shoot quite a bit of e-commerce shots which are used for various things such as websites, ad campaigns, and on-model photos for look books. I also shoot social media shots for clients’ Instagram and Facebook pages. In addition, many clients need photos for their email blasts as well. One option is to shoot photos specifically for these email blasts. Another option is to use photos that we have previously shot for e-commerce. Either way, I can help you to create the photos you need to make a positive lasting impression in your email blasts. Here are a few examples of photos that were originally shot on-model for Cosabella’s look book but were included in some recent email blasts:

Here are a few examples of still life product shots that were originally shot for Cosabella’s look book and were then included in their recent email blasts:

And lastly, here are examples of photos that were originally shot as e-commerce photos for Donald J Pliner’s website, but were also included in their email blast:

More work by Miami E-Commerce Photographer Kate Benson.

Miami E-Commerce Photographer Kate Benson | Donald J Pliner

by Kristin Stickels | May 11, 2015 | Ecommerce Photographer, Product

Donald J Pliner, one of my steady e-commerce clients, recently sent out an e-blast with my photos promoting their men’s driving loafers and women’s summer favorites.

And they also updated their website with a compilation of my shots as their intro for their men’s and women’s best sellers as well as their summer “must-haves.”